Lourdes opened the home portion of its 2021 season on Wednesday evening with a convincing 25-20, 25-8, 25-21 sweep of the University of Northwestern Ohio to pick up its first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference victory of the season inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"We had a great crowd tonight that was loud, and we fed off of them," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "They helped us keep the momentum on our side all night.  We played the volleyball we are capable of.  We served aggressively and were much more disciplined on defense."
 
The Gray Wolves started quickly, scoring the first seven points of the match off the serve of Katey Stakolich (Parma, Ohio/Normandy H.S.).  The Racers responded, pulling to within two, 9-7.  Lourdes maintained a lead between two and four points most of the set until a 4-1 run by UNOH late allowed the visitors to pull even at 19.  The Gray Wolves answered with the next three points and closed out the set scoring six of the final seven.
 
In set two, Lourdes hit a blistering .323 with 13 kills while the defense limited Northwestern Ohio to a -.121 hitting mark and just five kills.  Stakolich again spearheaded the attack from the service line as part of an early 6-0 run.  The Gray Wolves build a quick 20-4 lead on the way to the 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
The third set saw 13 ties and nine lead changes before the Gray Wolves pulled out the match late.  Trailing 17-15, Lourdes scored the next four points to forge in front, only to have the Racers respond.  With Northwestern Ohio leading 20-19, four straight points by the Gray Wolves pushed Lourdes toward the finish line.
 
Vanessa Villarreal (Monroe, Mich./Saint Mary Central Catholic H.S.) led Lourdes with 10 kills and 12 digs while hitting .364.  Kylee McBride (Peoria, Ariz./Mountain Ridge H.S.) added eight kills and 11 digs while Stakolich dished out 23 assists and added three aces while running an offense that hit .258 for the night.
 
Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) and Abby Gentile (Blissfield, Mich./Blissfield H.S.) each added 11 digs defensively.
 
Hope Fetherolf and Logan Thomas led Northwestern Ohio (3-10, 0-4 WHAC) with seven kills each while Aubree Ricketts recorded 19 digs.  The Racers were limited to just .086 hitting for the night and committed 13 service errors.
 
Lourdes (3-7, 1-4) will remain at home on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves entertain Cornerstone.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.